Everyone screamed a confused “Whoa—!” when Ye Ju-yeol suddenly bolted forward. No matter how famous or popular a rising star he might be, anyone would instinctively dodge if a 185-centimeter giant came charging straight at them.But there was one person who didn’t have time to escape.PD Jeon Jae-yeon, who had just come in and was in the middle of taking off her shoes, was caught completely off guard.Hearing the commotion, she lifted her head a second too late—and before she could react, her body was lifted clean off the floor by Ju-yeol’s hands. Yes, literally lifted.“Wha—Aaaagh! Ye Ju-yeol!”The inevitable scream followed. Though she was on the slim side, PD Jeon was still a full-grown adult, yet Ju-yeol effortlessly picked her up with only his arms and even spun her once in place, as if giving her a ride on a carousel.Seo-eul was, of course, horrified, and even Sa-heon—who normally didn’t care what anyone else was doing—looked at him as though he were a rabid dog. Yoon Hyuk just looked tired of life. No one understood what was happening, while Ju-yeol, who had just twirled the main PD through the air, was beaming with delight.“Wow, PD-nim! Long time no see! How have you been?”“Yah, you—! Put me down right now!”“Hm?”At her words, her feet promptly touched the ground again.As if nothing had happened, Ju-yeol calmly set her down in place. PD Jeon shook her dizzy head in disbelief.“Why do you always spin people the moment we meet? Are you taking revenge or something?”Knowing perfectly well that wasn’t the case, she asked anyway, and Ju-yeol tilted his head before smiling brightly again. It wasn’t the first time he’d spun her in the air, after all. The same thing had happened during a previous show, which he skipped over lightly, pouting that she didn’t remember.“Because I’m happy to see you! We haven’t met since the pre-meeting, right? You weren’t with our team this morning, so I couldn’t say hi.”“Hah… and this is how you show affection? Then why are you filing a protest? Who told you to lie down on the floor?”“I learned that from you, PD-nim.”“……”She had no comeback for that because it was true. Trying to avoid his eyes, she accidentally met Seo-eul’s across the room—his expression politely stunned. Yes, Seo-eul, I know you’re shocked. So am I… she thought helplessly, when suddenly something was thrust right under her nose: the resident guide leaflet.“Hello, PD-nim.”“Seriously, Yoon Hyuk too? What’s wrong with you all?”“I don’t want to live on instant noodles.”“Oh, come on. We’re not that stingy. People will think the limit’s like fifty thousand won or something….”“Then how much is it?”“That—”She opened her mouth reflexively, then shut it just as fast and gave them a look.“…Of course it’s a secret. Didn’t you read the guide? ‘The spending limit will not be disclosed.’”“Then at least give us a hint! Or tell us what the penalty is!”“Ah~ You think variety shows work for free? Not a chance.”“Fine. Then let’s make a bet.”Of course, it ended with a bet. From the moment Ju-yeol taunted the camera, everyone had seen it coming. As Ju-yeol and Yoon Hyuk had guessed, the staff desperately wanted footage of Seo Sa-heon and Lee Seo-eul—two men who had never once worried about money—agonizing over every swipe of a corporate card.“If we win and guess the limit, what will you give us?”“Anything you want?”“Then… a wish ticket. The production team grants one request from us. How about that?”“Isn’t signing a blank contract with the staff basically suicide?”“Hey, what do you take us for? You think I’d make you do something weird? I’m PD Jeon Jae-yeon.”“Yes.”“Yes.”“……”Her face darkened. She’d actually thought she was being generous, but apparently that was her reputation. With nothing left to say, she pretended to head for the door, only for Ju-yeol to chase after her, looking pitiful.“Aaah, I was joking! Of course our dear PD Jeon wouldn’t do something shady! I trust you! Let’s do it, come on!”Suppressing the smirk tugging at her mouth, PD Jeon cleared her throat and pointed somewhere meaningfully.“Fine, fine. But do Sa-heon and Seo-eul agree too? You two have been watching in silence.”Startled at being called out, Seo-eul hesitated, then grabbed Sa-heon’s wrist. He honestly didn’t care about spending less money, but that wasn’t the point right now. With steady steps, he approached the PD alongside Sa-heon and quietly spoke up.“…I’ll do it. You will too, right?”So he wasn’t just going to stay quiet after all.Sa-heon blinked, surprised by Seo-eul’s sudden spark of enthusiasm, then nodded. He felt about the same—indifferent. Two weeks wasn’t long. He could eat less «N.o.v.e.l.i.g.h.t» if he had to; it might even help with cutting weight.He had other goals entirely, so this whole circus didn’t interest him much. Letting his attention drift, he absentmindedly played with a strand of Seo-eul’s hair. PD Jeon, seeing the opportunity, clapped her hands loudly.“Great! Then it’s unanimous. We’ll choose the challenge. Paper cups or marbles—your pick?”Yoon Hyuk turned to Seo-eul.“Which do you want to do?”“Hmm. Doesn’t matter, since we don’t know what it is anyway. You?”“Then paper cups. I feel like marbles will lead to something weird.”“Okay. Ju-yeol, how about you?”No answer came. Seo-eul turned his head and found Ju-yeol wearing a strange expression, frozen mid-thought. Staring at him, Seo-eul prompted gently, and the reply finally came out, dazed.“Uh… either’s fine for me….”“Perfect. Paper cups it is. Everyone, gather around.”Her tone was as gentle as if she were wrangling kindergarteners.Soon, cast and staff surrounded the living-room table, an invisible tension buzzing between them. No one had expected things to escalate like this. They’d come to film an observational reality show, but somehow, the observers were now the ones being observed.The situation felt surreal. Trying to regain her composure, PD Jeon placed three paper cups and one marble on the table.“Alright! All you have to do is guess which of these three cups hides the marble~ Each person gets exactly one try! If anyone guesses correctly, we’ll immediately reveal the corporate card’s spending limit.”“Aha. So you’re playing shell game with us?”“Fun, right?”No one objected. It didn’t seem impossible—until a buzz-cut male staff member in an ill-fitting suit jacket stepped up to the table, bowed politely, and spoke.“Nice to meet you. Who’d like to go first?”It sounded like something straight out of a luxury casino.Yoon Hyuk raised his hand.“I’ll go first. I did a bit of boxing as a kid.”It actually sounded credible. Maybe he’d end it in one go.The man nodded and covered the marble with a paper cup. And then—The cups began to move at a speed that defied reason.“……”“……”“Eh?”Was this an optical illusion?The cups didn’t just slide—they danced across the table, swirling and twisting until everyone, cast and crew alike, had their mouths hanging open.What the hell.They’d joked about a shell game, but this guy was clearly a professional hustler.Even Yoon Hyuk, proud of his quick eyes, lost track after three spins. No matter how hard he concentrated, tracing invisible lines in his mind, the marble that had been under Cup 1 somehow rolled out from Cup 3 by the time it stopped. His confidence shattered.By the time the shuffling ended, he was dizzy.“The shuffle is complete. Please choose a number—one, two, or three from the left.”The so-called shell-game master showed no shame. His calm gestures over the cups were almost insulting.Naturally, Ye Ju-yeol wasn’t about to let that slide. From the moment the cups began moving, he’d been waiting for a reason to flip the table. Now he pointed furiously at PD Jeon.“Time out! This is fraud! Are we supposed to guess or not?!”“I don’t understand what you mean….”“Don’t play dumb! Sir, which land-based casino are you from?! You seriously hired a dealer?!”Given his performance, that was a fair accusation.But PD Jeon only smiled serenely.“Haha, there’s been a misunderstanding, Ju-yeol. This guy’s our adorable junior VJ. Look—he’s even wearing a name tag!”Sure enough, when the man lifted his jacket, a small tag peeked out: VJ Park Woon-soo. Ju-yeol trembled, insisting the name itself reeked of casino vibes.Even if he was official staff, this was blatant cheating.After a few rounds of arguing, Yoon Hyuk finally chose Cup 3.It was, of course, empty.“I have a question.”Everyone turned.Seo-eul, who had been quietly watching the chaos, raised his hand slightly. Both Ju-yeol and PD Jeon froze mid-fight to look at him. The others did too, curious what he’d say. But Seo-eul’s eyes focused on only one person.Park Woon-soo blinked, confused. “Me?”“Yes. This isn’t a magic trick, right? It’s a game?”

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